Lever handle



' Jan. 6, 1910 i c. STOLLER 3,488,076

LEVER HANDLE Filed Jan. 14, 1969 INVENTOR CLAUDE STOLLER ZTTE RIFEI E United States Patent 3,488,076 LEVER HANDLE Claude Stoller, 737 Beach St., San Francisco, Calif. 94109 Filed Jan. 14, 1969, Ser. No. 815,508 Int. Cl. E05b 1/00 US. Cl. 292-347 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A lever handle for mounting on a supporting spindle of a lockset, with the handle having a counter-balancing section at one side of the spindle, and an integral depressible arm at the opposite side of the spindle, so that when the handle is depressed and released the handle returns to approximately a horizontal position due to the force of the counter-balancin g section.

The invention, in general, relates to the building construction art. More particularly, the invention relates to means for opening and closing doors, windows or other closures utilized in buildings and dwellings.

It is perhaps well known in the art that handles for locksets heretofore have been associated with springs for returning handles to their initial positions whenever used to open a door in a room. Often, return springs in this environment either become so weak or so deteriorated as to be ineffective with the result that the door latch does not operate and doors remain open. The present invention is directed to the provision of a door handle of the lever type which obviates the necessity of incorporating a spring in the locket and which is effective in latching a door when closed.

A primary object of the present invention is to provide a lever handle which is capable of being used on standard cylindrical locksets designed for round handles, and upon locksets where there may be an advantage in reducing the strength of the handle return spring.

Another object of my invention is to provide an improved lever handle of the indicated nature which is additionally characterized by the omission of any handle return spring yet effective for the proper latching of the door or other part with which it is used.

A still further object of my present invention is to provide an improved lever handle of the aforementioned character which is relatively inexpensive to manufacture and which requires no maintenance expense.

Other objects of the invention, together with some of the advantageous features thereof, will appear from the following description of a preferred embodiment of the invention which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood, however, that I am not to be limited to the precise embodiment shown, nor to the precise arrangement of the components thereof, as my invention, as defined in the appended claims, can be embodied in a plurality and variety of forms.

Referring to the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side view of a preferred embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 in operative positions upon a door.

In its preferred form, the lever handle of my present invention which is normally supported on a spindle of a lockset preferably comprises an integral body of material consisting of a mounting section having a socket therein for receiving an end of the spindle, and an arm merging with said mounting section and projecting laterally and downwardly therefrom; the center of gravity of the lever handle being on the vertical axis below the horizontal axis of the supporting spindle.

ice

As particularly illustrated in FIG. 1 of the annexed drawings, I provide a mass or integrated body of material, which is designated generally by the reference numeral 11 in the drawings, and which is fabricated from any desired material whether it be wood, a plastic substance or a metal. The integrated body 11 is so formed as to provide at one end thereof a relatively thick and large or weighted mounting section 12, and a merging arm 13 at the other end thereof; said merging arm 13 preferably being slightly tapered outwardly from section 12 and projecting laterally as well as downwardly therefrom, as shown. The relatively thick weighted section 12 is formed with a transverse cavity or socket 14 therein which opens to the inner side 16 of the mounting section 12, see FIG. 2, and which terminates short of the outer side 17 of such section. That is to say, the cavity 14 does not extend through the section 12 but only partly across the same. While the cross-section of the socket 14 is shown to be circular in the drawings, it is only so shown because the preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings is in respect or in connection with a standard cylindrical lockset; such circular cross-section of the socket 14 not being critical inasmuch as the embodiment of my invention may be utilized with other locksets where the spindles thereof may be of square, hexagonal, or octagonal in cross-section rather than of circular crosssection in which event the cross-section of socket 14 may be similar to accommodate the cross-section of the spindle on which it is supported.

The cross-section of the socket 14 can conveniently be slightly tapered from the outside to the inside thereof in order to firmly grip the end of the spindle 18 of the lockset 19 with which my improved lever handle is associated or on which it is supported, thus reducing the likelihood of accidental dislodgement of the lever handle from the spindle. It may be observed here that the arm 13 of the integrated body 11 is made to such a length that the lever handle will clear the door frame, not shown, when the door 21 upon which the lever handle is mounted is opened, after actuating the handle arm 13 to free the latch 22.

In accordance with my invention, the material from which the mass or integrated body 11 is formed is so arranged both in relation to the relatively thick and large mounting section 12 as well as the merging arm 13 thereof that the center of gravity of the lever handle, as indicated at 23 in FIG. 1, will lie upon the vertical axis of the spindle 18 upon which the lever handle will be supported, as indicated by the dash line 24 in FIG. 1 of the drawings, but below the horizontal axis of the supporting spindle 18, as indicated by the horizontal dash line 26 in FIG. 1.

The center of gravity of my improved lever handle may be readily calculated in the conventional manner, allowing, of course, for the absence of material in the area of the cavity or socket 14. By virtue of this construction, the tendency of the lever handle, after the arm 13 thereof has been released from the hand following the depression thereof to open a door, is to return to a horizontal position by an over-hung or pendulum effect per force of gravity, despite a weak or deteriorated return spring in the lock. This is especially so inasmuch as the center of gravity of the lever handle comprising the counter-balancing section 12 and the merging arm 13 is below the horizontal axis 26 of the spindle 18.

I claim:

1. A lever handle for mounting upon a supporting spindle of a lockset; said lever handle comprising a counterbalancing mounting section at one side of said spindle; said mounting section having a socket therein for receiving an end of said spindle, and an arm at the opposite side of said spindle merging with said mounting section and depressible in relation to said spindle; the center of gravity of the lever handle lying on the vertical'axis below the horizontal axis of said spindle to enable automatic return of the lever handle to approximatelyhorizontal position by the force of said counter-balancing mounting section upon release of said arm from the hand following depression thereof.

2. A lever handle as defined in claim 1 wherein the center of gravity of the lever handle lies within said socket on a line below the horizontal axis of said spindle and intersecting the vertical axis of said spindle.

3. In combination with a supporting spindle on which.

it is mounted, a lever handle comprising a counter-balancing mounting section on one side of said spindle; said mounting section having a socket therein whose center lies on the vertical axis of said spindle, and serving to receive an end of said spindle, and a merging arm on said mounting section lying on the opposite side of said spindle; said arm being depressible'in relation 'to said spindle, and the center of gravity of the lever handle being on the vertical axis below the horizontal axis of said spindle to enable the automatic return of the lever handle to approximately horizontal position by the force of said counter-balancing section upon the release of said arm from the hand following the depression thereof.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 885,974 1,436,892 11/1922 Morse 292-188X MARVIN A. CHAMPION, Primary Examiner E. J. McCARTHY, Assistant Examiner 4/1908 Bo'ggio 292 1s9 

